Police react to a suspicious vehicle near La Carillon restaurant following a series of deadly attacks in Paris, France, November 15, 2015.Credit: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk

Published on 16.11.2015

Published on 16.11.2015

REUTERS - Turkey notified France twice in December 2014 and June 2015 about one of the attackers in suicide bombings and shootings in Paris that killed more than 130 people, a senior Turkish government official said on Monday.

Turkey only received an information request from France about Ismael Omar Mostefai after Friday's attacks, the Turkish official said. Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there was no record of him leaving again, the official said.

Turkey received an information request from France on October 10, 2014, regarding four terror suspects but during its investigation identified a fifth individual, Mostefai, the official said. It twice notified France of its findings but only heard back after Friday's attacks.

The senior government official said Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there was no record of him exiting.

Under pressure from Western allies to ramp up its fight against Islamic State, Ankara opened up its air bases to the U.S.-led coalition in July and has tightened border controls to try to stop the flow of foreign jihadists.But it has complained about a lack of robust intelligence sharing between allies and urged the West to provide more information about potential suspects.

"This is not a time to play the blame game, but we are compelled to share (this) information to shed light on (Mostefai's) travel history," the Turkish official said.

"(His) case clearly establishes that intelligence sharing and effective communication are crucial to counter-terrorism efforts," the official said.